When did Freethought Cease in the Muslim World? Good one Gill Sahab, what is even better is how you reply to your admirers and critics.

IMHO, the article questions how and why Free thought ceased to exist in one of the most thriving and vibrant civilizations of human history. People of other faiths and civilizations are free to do this sort of introspection as well, otherwise, do not spoil such a fertile debate with notions of Islam bashing and Jihad.

What is more important is that we move forward and instead of quoting names like Sina and Rushd, start building the foundations of an educational system that promotes such values.

The Rock Star and the Mullahs As a side note to this whole discussion, following is a bit on Maulana Bijli Ghar (Referred to as Mulla Electricity in the article and Mulla Bijli in the discussion).

The said person used to be a `lakhtai`. A `lakhtai` in Pushto is referred to as the boy who accompanies musicians to weddings, and other festivities where the musicians perform. The lakhtai`s job is to gather the money that is showered on the musicians and on the people dancing infront of them by friends and relatives. The lakhtai might also dance to the tunes during his important money-gathering job...the boy is usually of quite a young age so his presence amidst the dancing people is not quite felt.

Somewhere along the line, young Bijli Ghar started attending a local Madrassa and scaled the heights (?!?) to International stardom and got featured in some rocker`s documentary in BBC. The recordings of his speeches (where he swears and spews all sorts of obscenities and vulgarities) can be bought in the local audio centres in Old Peshawar (Hasht-nagr area). People listen to them for fun.

Its interesting to see how and where people end up during the course of their lives.

Time to Move On: A Farewell Letter Would like to know how Mr. Zubair fared upon his return...

Dear Sisters, Meet Maria Sharapova Kudos to A. Shiraz for pointing out the obvious. Women`s status in Islam as rarified by Maria Sharapova`s thumping victory in Wimbledon.

History shall remain witness to such great champions of introspection and reform. With people like him at the helm of affairs, secularism, no doubt has a future in the ``you-are-free-to-go-to-your-temples`` land.

Watch out for his next masterpiece:
Female Hobbit`s status in the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, in light of President Mugabe`s victory in Zimbabwe.

PS: I now have something to look forward to when I visit Siberia.

Understanding Sanatana Dharma That does it. People, if you know french, good for you. I`m impressed you learnt this, or like learning it, but please do not write incorrectly. Use the translation tool on google to correct your spellings if you have to.

tahmed_trente_deux: it is: ``Vous comprenez? mon ami?``

To quote from the article:

``there are other customs like reciting holy verses in the ear of a newly born``

Is`nt that an arab tradition as well?

Understanding Sanatana Dharma An article by a Pakistani muslim about Sanatana Dharma leads to a discussion in french about the exchange of Aishwariya Rai for 5000 cloaked women followed by an allusion to the land where men eat snails.

We live in interesting times.

On a more serious note, I commend the writer for bringing forth something informative about Hinduism. Its a pity that we do not learn a lot about it at school.

# 137 by Sadna
IMO, like interpretations of the afterlife have been the source of excesses in other religions, the forelife has been the source of excesses in Hindu belief systems.

Nice wrap-around.

The Commodity called Spirituality #7 by aquaris

``It was concoted By the British .... as a competitor to Hitler`s theory of Aryan ``

You seem to have made the most precise and rationally conclusive argument out of all the 3000 websites (of which you have verified that 85% refute Darwin`s theory). You seem to be quite an intelligent and rational being.

So why are the retarded British and their lackeys (such as the Americans) still pumping in a lot of funding into research related to evolution? Because they fear ``Hitler`s theory of Aryan`` to corrupt the minds of men even today?

I salute you. You just reconfirmed my belief in the evolution of the (now extinct) Dodo bird into someone lame like you. You deserve extinction as well.

Dana hmph...
...
hmmm....
...
hmph!

The Stop Sign Where is the article?!?!? I dont see any article...

Chowk Eds! A database error probably. Please see to it. Thank you.

Cast Away Fear The story is about a man who likes to stare at the sun for long durations of time (how he does it is beyond common logic). He has a friend who has a camera. He also has a bottle of water by his side from which he drinks water from time to time. He once saw another man try to save the sun (how he thought he would do it is also beyond common logic), and was saved by this man and the lifeguard on duty.

How the hell did you guys figure out all those things from this story when all it said was this?!?
Maybe I need to read more books...

The Summer of 2001… Despite the horrible stories that most people tend to associate with ragging, I think it is one of the best tools to `break the ice` between seniors and juniors.

Most educational institutions have traditions of ragging, that are passed on from senior to junior (call it a fraternity/sorority in the making if you will). Friendships are forged amidst the obscene-singing, enforced acting (singing to a lamp pole was a campus regular) etc etc that last for a long time.

I remember being ragged by a bunch of seniors for the better part of an evening, and then being offered course textbooks and notes the next.

Origins of Hijab Quite an interesting historical perspective, Gill Sahab. I admire your manner of precisely stating things in a coherent manner.

To add on to the ``Women-wear-hijab-due-to-acts-of-men`` gripe...If I`m not mistaken, Muslim men are also ordered to lower their gaze in the presence of women. My question is: If patriarchal values had not prevailed (?) in the system, would it be possible the other way round ? (Men in Hijab and Women ordered to lower their gaze in the presence of men)?

We live in interesting times.

Bush: King of Genocide #14 by mog

Good shaat!

As far as the poem is concerned (if I am at the liberty to call it a poem):
``The enemy of your enemy, is your friend``.
Even in that case, the poet (if I am once again, at the liberty to call him that) is not my friend. (Try to shorten the lines yaar, flow kharaab kartee hain.

I`d place my bet on Bush getting hold of OBL then an `event` in New York. An `event` would cost money and cause problematic side-effects. That would be too expensive now would`nt it?

Pessimism with Growth, Why? Excuse the slight side-discussion that I fear to initiate.

1. Where did the figures for unemployment & poverty come from? What is their authenticity?

2. Why can`t Pakistani`s for once appreciate the good things in life? (Point in fact: exports *did* cross a certain milestone last year, validated internationally)

3. From what I know about my own domain (tech sector), job opportunities were on the rise, in comparison to the last few years.

Just my two paisa`s.

PS: Malik99, I was under the impression that an american education would have taught you how to discuss things in a more civilized way. Referring to a dictator as a whore and foreign policy as love-making acts are more apt expressions for someone of lesser standing, unless ofcourse, I am mistaken.

The Collage of Modern Life #6 by soundmeister

- E-F-B and back to E is a horrible sequence.

You obviously not a musician, Bilal, so stop purrtending to be one.


The author talks of playing out of tune...
Only a musician would know what is and what is not a horrible sequence.
d-uh!

Our ’Zamir’ Would greatly appreciate it if you wrote about his life and works in detail. Would give other younger Pakistani`s a glimpse into how role model`s came to be what they were/are.

Just my two takka`s